Was it hard for you to find a 12-15 passenger van?- UPDATE- We found one! Yea!

So we are expecting our 6th in June and with soon to be 3 in carseats and 2 still in boosters we are needing to upgrade our van size. I didn't think it would be this hard to find a van at a decent price but everything I've found is either outrageously or has 300,000 miles on it! I don't really know if there is a point to posting this, just venting from the mounting pressure of needing to find a vehicle!

Thanks for listening

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Happily Married 1- DS age 11 DD age 9 and DD age 7 DD age 5 and DD age 3 and DD age 2 and our newest little man born 1-15-15

Not for us. I knew we would drive it for many, many years so we ordered one with everything we wanted. For us it was worth it. We have had it almost 6 years now and still love it and glad we ordered exactly what we wanted.

That said our other vehicles are bought with cash but we knew there way no way we could get our 12 passenger with everything we wanted and the color also unless we ordered. We just bit the bullet and ordered.

Yes, it was very hard. You are not alone. In fact, there is another poster on this same board who is really struggling. I just posted in one of her threads and bumped it up. (She has several) You two can commiserate. But, yes, we really struggled as well. My story is in one of her threads on this board.

Good luck!!

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Heather SAHM to 6 who are 7 and under, including 2 sets of twins and our last little miracle, a surviving identical twin, born Oct 2012!

We have been watching eBay, like you 5 are in carseats and the oddesey isn't comfy anymore. We just don't want to spend the money not want the gas increase costs. My dh goes back and forth. If had weren't so high wee would have one by now, but we get 24-28mpg and 12 pass gets around . 12, we live an hour from the city, you do the . Math

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Married to a real life Prince Charming Ultra conservative hippy saved by graceA thrifty housewife is better than a great incomeCan't forget my 6 lil blessings!!!

We are just wanting to get something that will hopefully last us a few years. We had just bought our honda (thanks to someone running a stop sign and totalling mine) when we found out we were expecting again. jUst feel like we've here done that and now having to do it again.

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Happily Married 1- DS age 11 DD age 9 and DD age 7 DD age 5 and DD age 3 and DD age 2 and our newest little man born 1-15-15

I can understand! We have six kids ages 7 months to 12 years and we really struggled with finding a vehicle that would fit everyone. We considered a 12 passenger van but with the price of the van and the increased gas cost, we knew that it would be pricey. (Also, I think I would have a hard time being comfortable with driving a large van, especially when it comes to parking in underground parking garages at museums, etc.)

We thought we should get a used Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna (8 passenger). However, we were shocked at how much they sold for used. Much like you, I lamented our predicament on another site and another mom mentioned to me what they did, which is then what we did, saving us thousands. We bought a Chrysler Town and Country (same thing as a Dodge Grand Caravan) and removed the two person bench seat, replacing it with a three person bench seat. (My parents didn't want their three person seat, so they gave it to us--otherwise, they can be found at a junkyard.) The floor mounting brackets in the middle row accomodate either a two person or three person bench seat. We now have an eight passenger minivan, and it works out great for us! My 5 year old is in a five point harness in the middle back with my two older boys on either side. Then on the other bench seat, we have my rf two year old, my 7 year old in a five point harness, and my rf baby in an infant seat. My kids are petite, so they fit in harnesses for a long time, which helps to deal with the fact that there are only four shoulder belts. Then I can use the lap belts for car seats. Sunshine Radians are nice narrow seats, which definitely helps with this arrangement.

The kids are able to slide into the back quite easily. I was concerned there wouldn't be enough room, but it's totally fine. (I actually like it much better than our other van which still has the normal bucket seats and the kids have to go in between them down the middle "aisle" of the van to get to the back.

We realize it won't work forever. I imagine as our kids get older and bigger, it will get more crunched, and if we go camping or traveling for more than a couple days we use a cartop luggage carrier to carry the extra "stuff." But for now it works great and is an option that we could afford. Hopefully in a few more years we can get something a bit bigger.

We are buying a 12 passenger this week, hopefully. We found a good deal but it's 4.5 hours from us. However, we can't get 6 carseats in our odyssey, or not easily enough for all of us to get in . I love that car, and I'm a bit sad to sell it, but with twins coming soon, we have to if we all want to ride together. I'm not looking forward to driving a monstrosity, but I'm sure I will get used to it eventually.

We searched online for ours. We ended up finding one in our area, but the financing did not go through, so we widened our search, and found one 6 hours away across the state line. It was exactly what we needed, at a great price, and with very low miles.

We are buying a 12 passenger this week, hopefully. We found a good deal but it's 4.5 hours from us. However, we can't get 6 carseats in our odyssey, or not easily enough for all of us to get in . I love that car, and I'm a bit sad to sell it, but with twins coming soon, we have to if we all want to ride together. I'm not looking forward to driving a monstrosity, but I'm sure I will get used to it eventually.

We had to get a 12 or 15 passenger for the same reason. 5 full sized carseats were hard to find a car that would seat them and be able to easily get in and out of. Plus, we thought we would end up with at least 7 kids and we'd need it anyway. We are probably done now at 6. (Though we do hope to have one more.)

I LOVED my Yukon XL. It was about 3 or 4 years old. It was the first and only car we ever bought new. (And we knew when we bought it that it was a once in a lifetime thing for us.) We ordered it with everything I wanted in the color I wanted. I LOVED that vehicle and still really miss it. My husband and I often say, "I wonder where our Yukon is." Just the other day we were talking about when we get something new we may go back to a Yukon since the kids will be older. We found ourselves saying, "I wonder if we could find ours and buy it back!"

I have to remind myself often that it's just a vehicle to get us from one place to the other. We don't spend that much time in there. It doesn't matter how we get to where we are going as long as we get there safely. Our life is outside the car.

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Heather SAHM to 6 who are 7 and under, including 2 sets of twins and our last little miracle, a surviving identical twin, born Oct 2012!